Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production

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* Article: Restivo M, van de Rijt A (2012) Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production. PLoS ONE 7(3): e34358. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034358

URL = http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034358


Abstract

"We test the effects of informal rewards in online peer production. Using a randomized, experimental design, we assigned editing awards or “barnstars” to a subset of the 1% most productive Wikipedia contributors. Comparison with the control group shows that receiving a barnstar increases productivity by 60% and makes contributors six times more likely to receive additional barnstars from other community members, revealing that informal rewards significantly impact individual effort."